7.15.2010

A Party In The West

My little sister and I danced around the mid-wife's office singing "It's a boy, It's a boy, It's a boy" at the top of our lungs.

That was yesterday.

Today he's eighteen.

His greatest ambition is to be taller than me.

Mine is to figure out where I was while he was getting so tall.

Out greeting ritual now includes a 'shoes-off' check of our heights.

As siblings we have our little squabbles.

Usually I lose.

I won't let him forget about the time he cut ALL the hair off his sisters' Barbie collection and the day he helped our 'pet' baby bunnies escape by playing hide-and-seek with them.

He doesn't lose a chance to remind me of the time I went into the ditch right after I got my drivers license.

ahhh... the memories...

There wasn't a chance I was going to miss this birthday party.

* * *

I love going home to my parents' for get-togethers.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't somewhat for the food.

I'm a shallow creature.

My little girl still finds me and stands at my side when we say grace. I love that she still wants to be near me. She still likes to have my help getting her plate. Later she plays blithely with the other kids but she still comes to check that I'm around now and then. I like that. I like being needed.

I may not be her only source of nourishment anymore but I can rock an oversized, clumsy bottle of ketchup like only a mom-star can. That always keeps her coming back, hot-dog in hand.

I come home for the people too. This is one of my beautiful aunties.

And here she is with her handsome husband.

And here, after they accused me of stalking them.

I often have that effect on people.

Luckily, most of the time those people are family and they can't get rid of me.

Poor folks.

And another lovely auntie.

Oooooooo, and a baby.

With Aunties come cousins.

With cousins come second cousins.

And on and on and on it goes...

Until you suddenly find yourself bursting into a loud and rowdy edition of We Are Family...

What?

You're kidding me!

You don't do that?

Fine.

Moving on.

Oh yes, back to cousins.

They grow up before your eyes and you watch with wonder as they find their soulmates and get married. Then you start pestering them about babies.

The babies multiply.

They come in ones and sometimes twos.

(Can you spot the twins?)

Soon they are old enough to ride off into the sunset to seek their fortune.

It seemed for a while you would "reign~supreme" in the tall catagory of our family. Now you seemed to have lost the title to your little/big brothers.

i loved the West party, but you KNOW i always love the birthdays. The Summer ones are always extra nice when the weather behaves and we can enjoy the outside like we did that night.What a great bunch of pix you got....hint hint!